The 50-year-old journalist is married to a healthcare project editor at Kaiser Health News and the couple have twin 14-year-old sons.
Thrush was suspended from reporting on November 20 and will remain in limbo until the end of January, the Times announced Thursday. He "does not deserve to be fired," the paper said, but will receive "training designed to improve his workplace conduct."
A former colleague at Politico, Laura McGann, alleged in a November 20 report for Vox that herself and "several other women" were hit on by Thrush in a manner that was both inappropriate and undesired.
"Three young women I interviewed, including the young woman who met Thrush in June, described to me a range of similar experiences, from unwanted groping and kissing to wet kisses out of nowhere to hazy sexual encounters that played out under the influence of alcohol. Each woman described feeling differently about these experiences: scared, violated, ashamed, weirded out. I was — and am — angry," wrote McGann, who is now the editorial director of Vox.
"Details of their stories suggest a pattern. All of the women were in their 20s at the time. They were relatively early in their careers compared to Thrush, who was the kind of seasoned journalist who would be good to know. At an event with alcohol, he made advances. Afterward, they (as I did) thought it best to stay on good terms with Thrush, whatever their feelings," she said.
Following the allegations, Thrush apologized to "any woman who felt uncomfortable in my presence, and for any situation where I behaved inappropriately."
